/ 26 May 1999

STRIKES AT NIGERIAN BANKS

FOUR days ahead of the handover to a civilian government in Nigeria, bank workers began strike actions demanding better pay and conditions, union officials said. “We have sent out circulars to all our members nationwide. It is a stay-at-home order,” Shuaib Ibrahim, the general secretary of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) said. Many banks in Lagos, the country’s economic capital, were either shut or working with reduced staff Tuesday. Ibrahim said the strike was not aimed at disrupting the country’s return to civilian rule Saturday after more than 15 years of military regimes.